Romney and Obama's chili lunch probably won't be the beginning of a Bush-Clinton-style friendship, pundits say

Despite the cordial nature of the meeting, pundits are skeptical that it could lead to the same sort of working friendship that developed between Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush

In this handout from the White House, Former Republican presidential candiate and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (L) shakes hands with U.S. President Barack Obama in the Oval Office following their lunch November 29, 2012 in Washington, DC . Obama had invited Romney to the White House for the lunch. (Pete Souza/White House Photo via Getty Images)

Mitt Romney loves his McDonald’s and has said so on many occasions. In fact, he often used a card his father got for helping out the McDonald’s founders to get free hamburgers for life.

It’s unclear exactly when Romney was buying this burger (the picture was posted on Reddit at about 2 a.m. ET), but hopefully it didn’t ruin his appetite when he met for lunch with U.S. President Barack Obama today.

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed Mitt Romney to the White House on Thursday as the two men sat down for a private lunch less than a month after their bruising election battle. Yet despite the cordial nature of the meeting, pundits are skeptical that it could lead to the same sort of working friendship that developed between Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.

Romney was whisked onto the White House grounds in a dark SUV just after noon; a crush of television cameras captured his entrance to the president’s home. He was alone and smiled as he entered the White House.

Obama and Romney then sat down to a lunch of turkey chili and southwestern chicken salad in the White House private dining room. The president was making good on a promise made during his victory speech on Nov. 6 to reach out to his one-time rival for the White House.

According to the White House, Romney congratulated Obama on his re-election and wished him well in his second term.

The men also discussed America’s leadership in the world and the importance of maintaining that leadership position in the future. They pledged to stay in touch.

Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush take in the Superbowl together in 2005.(AFP PHOTO/Roberto SCHMIDT)

However, several pundits have said that they do not believe that the relationship between the two men will not develop into something less business-like.

“I also do not foresee Obama and Romney becoming bosom buddies down the road as Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter or George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton did,” Poltical Science professor David B. Cohen, told Politico.

“The 2012 election was a particularly bitter contest (not that all presidential elections aren’t tough) and both candidates seemed to have a high level of disdain for one another. In the end, the meeting will make for a nice photo-op but will disappear quickly from the public consciousness.”

Former Former RNC chairman Michael S. Steele had an even more cynical take for Politco: “I can hear their initial greeting already: Obama: ‘Hey Mitt, now that I’ve kicked your butt, let’s be friends.’ Romney: ‘Mr. President, you had me at Ohio.’”

Former Republican US Presidential candidate Mitt Romney arrives for lunch at the White House November 29, 2012 in Washington, DC. Former Governor Mitt Romney met with Obama after loosing the 2012 US Presidential Election to him earlier this month. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI

Their lunch was closed to the media — not even a pool photographer was allowed in, likely at Romney’s request, although the White House photographer was on hand. When Obama sat down with John McCain for a similar meal in Chicago in 2008, the two men posed for photographers.

Romney has been in near-seclusion at his home in southern California since losing the election he felt certain he would win.

Several of his campaign aides have said they were convinced of victory on Nov. 6, believing Obama’s re-election team was over-estimating how many of the president’s core supporters would actually get out and vote.

Indeed, by late afternoon on election day, Romney told reporters on his campaign plane that he’d written just one speech ahead of the polls closing: a 1,100-word victory speech. His delay in taking the stage after Obama was declared the winner was reportedly due to his need to pen a quick concession address.

Romney, 65, has made headlines only once since his defeat, when he told a conference call of supporters that he’d lost the election because he couldn’t compete with the “gifts” Obama offered to his own constituents — minorities, youth and women chief among them.

While he’s ruled out ever running for public office again, he’s reportedly expressed interest in philanthropic efforts or having another role in future Olympics after successfully helming the Salt Lake City Games in 2002.

There has been some speculation that Obama might be preparing to offer Romney a job in his administration, with some pundits pointing to the Commerce Department.

But Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, denied that. The lunch, he suggested, was intended as an olive branch following a bitter election and is a tradition Obama was keen to uphold.

Obama did want to hear Romney’s ideas for making government more efficient, Carney added. The president has floated the idea of merging some business-related government agencies and has asked Congress for the go-ahead to re-organize some of the executive branch.

His encounter with Romney also came as Obama attempts to reach a deal with congressional Republicans on the looming so-called “fiscal cliff” that threatens to push the U.S. economy back into a recession.

Bros or no? Mitt Romney (L) and Barack Obama talk at the conclusion of the final U.S. presidential debate in Boca Raton, Florida, in this October 22, 2012 file photo. (REUTERS/Jason Reed/Files)

Obama has been arguing forcefully in favour of tax hikes on wealthy Americans while extending tax cuts for the middle class. Romney bitterly disputed that approach on the campaign trail, saying the George W. Bush-era tax cuts should be extended for all Americans, including the wealthy.

The two men barely know one another, meeting only fleetingly prior to the 2012 election. Their primary interaction was the three presidential debates, at least two of which were heated and hostile.

The Obama campaign repeatedly portrayed Romney as a callous rich man looking out only for the wealthy, while the Republican painted Obama as a hapless economic failure.

Earlier Thursday, Romney met with Paul Ryan, his former running mate. The Wisconsin congressman is heavily involved in the so-called fiscal cliff negotiations under way on Capitol Hill.

“I remain grateful to Gov. Romney for the honour of joining his ticket this fall, and I cherish our friendship,” Ryan said in a statement following their meeting.

“I’m proud of the principles and ideas we advanced during the campaign and the commitment we share to expanding opportunity and promoting economic security for American families.”

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